For the Cause
by Blonde Panther
Summary: FE7. Darin of Lahus summons several Lycian marquesses to his side, plotting a rebellion that will overthrow the young and inexperienced Uther of Ositia. The otherwise loyal Elbert of Pherae is one of the conspirators; but despite his noblest of motives, he will soon be caught up in something far more sinister than a simple rebellion...


**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters or events of this fic. Everything belongs to Intelligent Systems.  
**Characters: **Elbert, Harken, Ninian, Nils, Darin, Ephidel, Nergal, minor characters.  
**Pairings:** None of immediate importance.  
**Warnings:** Spoils a LOT of the game. If you wish to play FE7 unspoiled, make sure you've cleared chapter 20E before you read any of this. Probably clear the entire game just in case. European spelling.  
_**Author's Notes:**__ Elbert's involvement in Darin's rebellion has fascinated me ever since I first cleared FE7. Hector says that Uther trusted Elbert more than anyone else, and I've always pictured Pherae as the one family that was unwaveringly loyal to Ositia. So I got to thinking. What could possibly have moved Elbert to join a rebellion designed to overthrow the man he faithfully serves? I came up with a solution, and decided to work out the idea further. By the end, this will be a large fic detailing Elbert's entire journey throughout FE7, from the rebellion to his death. However, I will update this slowly and irregularly. I have a first draft serving as an elaborate outline, but writing it out properly and in detail will take time.  
UPDATE 11-3-2014: In retrospect I REALLY wasn't happy with this chapter (it's pretty old) so I re-wrote the whole darn thing. My apologies to the early reviewers._

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As Elbert took the reins of his horse, he felt his heart pounding in his throat. He had slept poorly that night, too, and as he set his other hand on the back of the saddle to pull himself up and into it, he realised his hands were sweating. He showed none of his discomfort to his knights, nor to his wife or son. It was unbecoming of a marquess of several years to be nervous for a simple council in a nearby territory, and he might give himself away if they caught on. Not that he didn't expect them to see the discrepancies in his story any second now, anyway.

His son Eliwood was a clever lad, almost of legal age, and Elbert's only heir. Under normal circumstances, Elbert brought him to every important meeting he attended, to teach him and prepare him for when he would have to attend them when he became marquess of Pherae. Any second now, Eliwood could ask him why he was being left at home this time. But he didn't.

Eleanora, then, his wife from whom Eliwood had inherited his cleverness. She knew well that he did not need ten of Pherae's finest knights to escort him to a simple meeting. Customary was for Elbert to bring Marcus, perhaps Harken as well if they were going far away, but he had instructed Marcus to stay behind and watch over Eliwood in his absence. Instead, he brought Harken and nine others of the most skilled warriors Pherae had. Any moment now, she would question him on this squad. But she didn't.

Why were they not questioning him? Part of Elbert vehemently hoped that either of their smiles would drop, that they would ask him a question he could not answer, that they would stop him. Eleanora opened her mouth. "Do come back as quickly as possible," she said. "You know the harvest festival is in a few months." Elbert laughed, both at the triviality of her request and at Eliwood's rolling his eyes in amusement.

"I will," he lied, "Rest assured."

"My lord," he heard behind him, and he turned around to face his knights. Harken bowed slightly in the saddle. "We should leave now if we are to reach Lahus in time."

"Of course." With a final nod to his family, Elbert turned his horse and gestured for the knights to follow. Looking over his shoulder, he assessed them one by one. About half of them were dutifully trained paladins, the other half foot folk who could ride, but were better suited to heavier weapons on the ground. Regardless, they were his most trusted knights, in whose skills he had enough faith to bring them on this mission. He needed the best, and even with them at his side, he had his doubts that it would be enough.

After all... taking Ositia by force was no small feat.

House Pherae had been faithfully devoted to House Ositia ever since they had first been established. When Lord Darin's cryptic and vague messages had become more clear-cut and his intentions had become clear, under normal circumstances Elbert would have reported his suspicions to Lord Uther. Betraying and overthrowing the young marquess of Ositia was unthinkable to him. And yet, he found himself on the road to Lahus, about to supply ten of Pherae's finest to just that cause.

Why? For Lord Uther's own good. He had been officially put into power only recently, although his parents had passed away well over ten years ago. During that time, the young lord had already governed Ositia, under the watchful eye of his council and with Elbert's guidance. When Lord and Lady Ositia had passed away, Elbert and Eleanora had taken it upon them to watch over their two young sons –fourteen and six at the time- so that they wouldn't be entirely without parental guidance for the rest of their lives. The distance between Pherae and Ositia meant this wasn't a perfect arrangement, but Lord Uther was dedicated to his written exchange with Elbert and confided in him more than in any Ositian.

This included personal affairs, so Elbert was the only Lycian marquess privy to a secret Ositia had been frantically hiding from the League. He doubted if even Lord Hector, Lord Uther's younger brother, knew the severity of the situation. Lycia's youngest marquess was dreadfully ill, a hereditary disease stoked by stress and exhaustion. He had told Elbert he suspected he would die soon, his illness the same as the one that had taken his parents. The physician and the few knights that knew of his state begged him to rest, but both Elbert and Lord Uther knew that he couldn't get the amount of rest that he needed to recover, no matter his efforts. The duties of a Lycian marquess were demanding regardless of their territory, and Ositia was the largest and most powerful territory of Lycia. Hearing that Lord Uther systematically forewent full nights of sleep to clear his backlog had not come as a surprise to Elbert at all.

Lord Uther would die within half a decade if nothing happened, that much was for certain. But what would become of Ositia, and Lycia, after his death? He was unwed and had no children, but he did have an heir in his younger brother. However, Elbert knew Lord Hector well- he was Eliwood's closest friend. The younger brother had no interest in politics, and having been exposed to corruption and seeing his brother grow weaker had utterly antagonized him against the idea of taking the Ositian throne. Adding to this was that he was brash, impulsive, and less-than-perfectly mannered. More so than Lord Uther, Lord Hector would struggle to be accepted as leader of the Lycian League.

Did Lycia have to fall into chaos because its highest power was slowly being worked to death? Was there no solution? Of course there was, as much as it had appalled Elbert to think about it. Ositia needed a leader other than Lord Uther, a leader who brought his own heir to the table, and was known to be healthy and competent. This was where Marquess Lahus's rebellion came in; a perfect opportunity to remove Lord Uther from the power that was slowly killing him and install a new leader. There was one hitch in the plan.

Lord Darin, who had always been at odds with Ositia and desired its power for himself, intended to overthrow both Lord Uther and Lord Hector, putting himself in control of Lycia and likely keeping his son Erik as his heir. However, despite maintaining amiable relationships with all Lycian territories including Lahus, Elbert held little respect for Lord Darin. He was a power-hungry, hedonistic fool, and his son was no better. To make matters worse, Elbert didn't have to see it in writing to know that Darin would execute both brothers once he was in power. Elbert refused to let that happen. His entire plan was to _save_ Lord Uther; killing him once he was free to rest would beat the point!

Now, Marquess Pherae did not like to think of himself as a conceited or ambitious man. He governed the coast and mountains of Pherae, watching the border between Lycia and Biran, and he was perfectly content with that. However, if amongst the conspirators no better candidate would be found, he would have to take the Ositian throne himself. Eliwood would remain his successor, and he would leave Marcus to watch Pherae.

Of course, once the rebellion was complete, Darin would be very hard-pressed to relinquish his newfound power, and his co-conspirators would likely resist Elbert as well. Unfortunately for him, though, Marquess Pherae was equally crafty as Marquess Lahus... if not more so.


End file.
